Mind control, levitation and no pain: the race to find a superman in sport

The US and Soviet Union both believed people could develop superpowers. And, reveals The Men on Magic Carpets, their psychic experiments played out in the sporting arenaCandlestick Park, San Francisco, 1964. The wind is whipping off the Bay on a typically cold night at the ballpark. Mike Murphy takes his seat in Section 17. A jazz band pipes up and the vendors shout their wares: Hamm ’s or Falstaff beers, Oscar Mayer hot dogs with Gulden’s mustard. Murphy is close enough to talk to theSan Francisco Giants players – but he’s not interested in hero worship. He wants to put a voodoo curse on the opposition, theLA Dodgers.He tells two friends it ’s called a “whammy” or “occult backlash”. He’s been practising for years, perfecting the very particular cries and exact hand gestures to transmit negative energy to players. He reckons he’s abaseball witch doctor, sending psychic waves to scramble minds and zap energy from muscles.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Books Cold war Psychology Espionage Sport and leisure books Culture US sports Neuroscience Human biology California Communism Russia San Francisco Giants Baseball Anatoly Karpov Chess Religion CIA US news World news Source Type: news